Dr. Jeffry A. Timmons will deliver this year's Coleman White Paper address. Dr. Timmons is the Franklin W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director, Price-Babson College Fellows Program at Babson College. Since the late 1960s, Jeffry A. Timmons has been one of the pioneers in the development of entrepreneurship education and research in America. He is recognized as a leading authority internationally for his research, innovative curriculum development, and teaching in entrepreneurship, new ventures, entrepreneurial finance, and venture capital.

In 1985, he designed and launched the Price-Babson College Fellows Program, aimed at improving teaching and research by teaming highly successful entrepreneurship with "an itch to teach" with experienced faculty. This unique initiative was in response to a need to create a mechanism enabling colleges and universities to attract and support entrepreneurship educators and entrepreneurs with an itch to teach. There is now a core group of over 750 entrepreneurship educators and entrepreneurs from approximately 250 colleges and universities in the US and 28 foreign countries.

Dr. Kevin Learned became Albertson College of Idaho's 10th president on July 1, 1999. At Albertson College, Learned is overseeing the implementation of a five-year strategic plan that builds on the academic strength of the institution by creating opportunities for more internships, better career guidance, new study abroad programs and technology in the curriculum. He has overseen a $1.7 million infusion of investment in computer software, hardware and infrastructure improvements, and transformed the college into a "wireless campus."

An active member of USASBE, Learned has been especially involved in international education. Practicing his belief that today's student needs to be global in perspective, Learned has studied Spanish in Costa Rica, taught in Mexico, shared his expertise at the National Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam, studied small business in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and arranged for student exchanges with the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

Maggie Wilderotter is senior vice president of Business Strategy at Microsoft, responsible for strengthening customer and partner outreach in the government and education markets, as well as working across Microsoft's business divisions on developing and coordinating forward-looking strategies.

Previously, Wilderotter was president and chief executive officer of Wink Communications Inc., where she led efforts to develop low-cost,end-to-end e-commerce systems to enable advertisers, merchants, and broadcast and cable networks to create interactive enhancements for traditional television advertisements and programs. Before joining Wink Communications, Wilderotter was the executive vice president of national operations for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and chief executive officer of AT&T's Aviation Communications Division. She also served as senior vice president of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. and was a regional president managing the company's California, Nevada and Hawaii Region.

Wilderotter has received national recognition for her contributions to the television industry. In 2000, the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) honored her outstanding work in the industry, awarding her the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership. The award is the most prestigious of NCTA's national awards, recognizing the best and the brightest in cable television. The NCTA also gave her the award in 1989, making Wilderotter one of only 20 individuals to have received two Vanguard Awards since the awards' inception in 1965. In addition, she received the 1999 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Women in Cable and Telecommunications Foundation and its Top 10 Women in Cable & Telecommunications Award in 1989 for her support of the foundation and advocacy of women in the cable industry.

John E. Hughes is the Board Chair, Former President, and CEO of The Coleman Foundation, an independent, private, charitable foundation engaged in a range of philanthropic programs, largely in the Chicago and Midwest region. Current asset value is approximately $175 million. Approximately $85 million in grants have been approved since 1981. Core funding areas include; cancer care, treatment and research, handicapped housing/education and education programs, primarily in the area of entrepreneurship/self-employment.

He is also the owner, President / CEO of J.E. Hughes Enterprises, Inc., providing financial and management services. In addition, he is the founder and President/CEO of the John E. and Jeanne T. Hughes Foundation, Inc., a private, charitable family foundation engaged in a range of philanthropic programs, primarily for entrepreneurship awareness and education. Current asset value is approximately $6 million, with over $1 million in grant funds distributed to date.

Mr. Hughes was the founder and Senior Partner of the John E. Hughes & Co., C.P.A. Firm, and the former CEO and President of the Archibald Candy Corporation and Fannie May Candy Shops, Inc.